


Paradox Be Damned

by justanothersong



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, Mild Angst, Science, Science Bros, Science Fiction, Temporal Paradox, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 03:19:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7668172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanothersong/pseuds/justanothersong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all came about in the way most incredible scientific discoveries do: with massive amounts of coffee, several days of straight wakefulness, and too much access to state of the art equipment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paradox Be Damned

It all came about in the way most incredible scientific discoveries do: with massive amounts of coffee, several days of straight wakefulness, and too much access to state of the art equipment.

Jane was the first to posit that a wormhole could be used not only to travel distances, but also through the very fabric of time.

Bruce was the one to do the math and conclude that yes, it really did seem possible.

Tony was the one to start building the machine.

Darcy was the one to supply coffee and pastries, because if she couldn’t drag any of them off to their beds, she was going to make damn sure they were at least well-fed and mainlining enough caffeine to keep from passing out face-first into a free-electron laser.

After about four days, Darcy couldn’t stand it anymore and started chasing them all around the room with a wooden spoon she had snuck away to steal from the kitchen, and eventually they gave in, primarily because they noticed that the lab had developed an odor and it wasn’t coming from any of their experiments.

Once they were safely tucked away in their beds and having happy little science dreams, Darcy took to Febreezing the hell out of the place, and then promptly passed out on the couch in Jane’s apartment. She was still out cold some twelve hours later -- having kept up the same marathon session as her experimental-minded friends -- when Jane awoke, showered, and snuck past her.

 

Without Darcy there to reign them in, the Science Bros and their recently adopted Little Science Sis went completely off the rails, more interested in seeing if they could do what they were hypothesizing than its ramifications or the possible collapse of the fabric of time and space. 

Jane, ever the romantic at heart, was the first one to suggest that they take a trip back to SHIELD’s earliest days and bring its matriarch into the new century.

Bruce was the one to voice concern over the problem of creating a paradox and wiping out part of the established timeline if they did such a thing.

Tony was the one to decide that time had to be a concrete record if they could move back and forth between eras, and posit that they wouldn’t be undoing anything at all, just creating a new split timeline where someone had existed both then and now.

 

The trio then decided that Tony would be the one to make the trip; he looked enough like his father to keep her from being unsettled and he had a way with words. If anyone could make Peggy Carter understand what they were trying to do, it was Tony Stark.

It took a few more hours of intense mathematics and brief raid of Toby’s closet to find something acceptable to wear in late 1945, and when Darcy finally woke, panicked, and ran to the lab to stop them, she arrived just in time to see Tony disappear with a wink in a blinding flash of light that knocked both Bruce and Jane to the floor.

When he returned about forty-seven seconds with a surprised woman clutching his arm, the lab erupted into a brief spate of madness.

Jane whooped and jumped around a bit, excited for what they had discovered and even more excited for what they had done for Captain Rogers.

Bruce shook his head in disbelief, muttering, “Well I’ll be damned.”

Tony grinned at the brunette at his side and said “Welcome to the 21st century, Agent Carter. If you give us a moment, we have someone we know would love to see you again.”

Darcy just stared. Then swore. Then stared some more. Then swore again.

Then she needed to sit down for a minute, as she was still somewhat sleepy and this was all a little too much to be taking in.

 

Jane was the one who calmed first and, grinning, politely requested that JARVIS let Captain Rogers know that his presence was needed in the lab. The genteel AI voice responded only a moment later that the Captain was on his way and Peggy Carter, fresh from 1945 and still wounded by loss, stood up a little straighter and ran her fingers through her hair.

“You look stunning,” Jane told her, smiling, then realized she hadn’t introduced herself. “I’m Jane Foster, by the way. I helped bring you here.”

Peggy smiled. “I suppose I should thank you, then? Or should I perhaps wait until…”

She paused, recognizing the voice calling into the lab from the corridor almost immediately.

“Jane?” he called. “JARVIS said you needed something. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, we’re fine, please, just come in,” Jane called back, almost breathlessly. She had taken to Captain Rogers quite quickly, enjoying his friendly company very much; his heartbreak at the loss of Peggy Carter for the second time in his life had affected all of them, but none so much as Jane, who had a particular fondness for epic tales of romance. Getting to play even a small part in setting things right had her own heart just about fit to burst.

Steve stepped inside the lab, looking curious and glancing around at the new machinery they had constructed in the past few days, before his eyes lit upon her.

None of them had ever seen him gape like that, blue eyes wide and staring, throat working as though he were trying to speak but unable to find words.

There were tears glistening in Peggy’s eyes, even as she smiled. “Hello again, Captain,” she said. “I believe you still owe me a dance.”

Steve managed a few steps forward before he sunk to his knees, arms around her waist and face pressed against the fabric of her blouse. He made no noise but his shoulders were shaking, even as Peggy wrapped her arms around him and made soft soothing noises.

 

Darcy quietly rounded up the scientists in the room and shooed them away, following them out and closing the door behind them. Perhaps it was best that she hadn’t been around to stop them this time.


End file.
